Prospector in the Mazes of Xor
| Developer: Hidden Treasures | Graphics: |
 | |
| Publisher: Logotron | Sound: |
 | |
| Year: 1989 | Difficulty: |
 | |
| Genre: Puzzle | Lastability: |
 | |
| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
7/10 | |
I remember criticising a certain Tiny Skweeks (and a few others) for a lack of creativity in the puzzles, disguised by an unnecessary time limit, which, in my opinion, has no place in a thinking game. Well, here’s the counter-example!
Prospector in the Mazes of Xor offers you the chance to solve problems involving pushable blocks and things to collect (balloons). It’s a sort of mix between Sokoban (1982) and Boulder Dash, minus the monsters. Here, you don’t need reflexes, but the puzzles are tough. You’ll have to think! Moreover, you’re not penalised by how long it takes, but by how many steps you take (limited to two thousand).
Two characters are controlled alternately (like in Head over Heels). They must cooperate to navigate through complex mazes, each about four “screens” in both height and width (with scrolling). You can switch between characters at any time (as long as they’re still alive).
There are half a dozen elements to play around with: rocks (subject to gravity), two types of “magnetic fields” (allowing passage only vertically or horizontally), zeppelins (the equivalent of rocks but “falling” to the left rather than down), spheres (which, once pushed, keep moving in the same direction until they hit an obstacle), teleporters, and, of course, two types of explosives…
I’m not a huge fan of puzzles, but I must admit this game perfectly meets my requirements. A level editor is even provided.
The original is called Xor (1987).
|
